Cricket201909

thegroupmakeitswaybackupthe

difficultpath.Elseheadedtoher

studioalcovetostudyhersubjects’

featuresingreaterdetail.Throughthe

lensofhermicroscope“anewworld

ofundreamedbeautywasrevealed.”

Evolvingintotaldarkness,so

deepintheoceanthatnosunlight

couldpenetrate,manyofElse’sdeep-sea

specimensexhibitedbioluminescence—the

abilitytoproducelightbychemicalreaction,

asfirefliesdo.Ina lightlesshabitat,biolu-

minescencewasusefulforattractingmates,

luringprey—somefishdangleda lightin

frontoftheirmouths,likea fishinglure—or

toconfuseorscareoffpredatorswitha sud-

denbrightflash.

Onedaya blackanglerfish—whichhas

a light-tippedfilamentextendingfromits

head—wasbroughtupina net.Elseplaced it

inanicebox,anditslightflashedonand off

even after two days. Another of Else’s favorite

subjects was a bizarre-looking fish that “car-

ried a blue light on his forehead like a miner’s

lamp.” With striking detail, she painted the

fish’s fin rays and light-producing organs,

called photophores.

Else studied the shape and structure of

fish in examining pans and alcohol-filled

specimen jars. She also examined their stom-

achs to learn what they ate. This helped her

visualize the creatures in their natural habitat.

She could then create vivid portraits of her

sharp-fanged subjects flashing through the

dark sea in pursuit of their typical prey.

Else paints a gulper eel from a preserved specimen
(above), and Beebe’s bathysphere surrounded by a
school of giant blue parrot f ish (right).